Child of Red, Child of Silver
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: "Your hair is pretty." She may not have been able to remember much, but she did remember that he was the first to compliment her hair since she came to that town. SacredJewelShipping.


**Zexal Oneshot**

**Child of Red, Child of Silver**

**Angst/Friendship**

**[Sirius/Lyra] **

"**Your hair is pretty." She may not have been able to remember much, but she did remember that he was the first to compliment her hair since she came to that town. SacredJewelShipping.**

**(DO: Own the characters. DON'T: Own Zexal.)**

* * *

Child of Red, Child of Silver

* * *

Sirius looked outside the window of his home.

Nothing.

His father hadn't come home yet.

To his almost-six year old mind, it felt as if his father hadn't been home in years.

His mother would say it was only a week, but Sirius didn't feel that way. He wanted his dad home again.

He most certainly didn't want to see the rain continue to fall. And he was certain his brother and sister felt the same way.

They did. In fact, they were both looking out the window with him. Not that he really noticed all that much. He didn't care.

"It won't stop," Katherine mumbled. Like any normal seven year old girl, she was rather impatient.

"It will," Durbe said. "Eventually." Not surprising that it was him who said something like that. He was always saying stuff that sounded super smart.

"Oh, really? When, then, genius?"

Sirius sighed. "When Daddy comes home," he said.

Katherine wasn't all that convinced.

"How do you know that?" she asked. "You dream it or something?"

Sirius didn't nod, but he didn't shake his head either.

"Come now, you three," Aquarii chuckled. "It's time for bed."

Sirius and Durbe jolted up from their seat at the window. "Not yet," Sirius whined. "We need to be awake when Daddy comes home."

"And you will be," Aquarii said. "I'll wake you up if he comes home late."

Katherine sighed. Like her brothers, she too wanted to stay awake and welcome him home, but when her father was away, their mother was in charge. "Okay."

She then slid off of her seat and started for her room.

The twin boys looked at each other, exchanging saddened looks, before they resorted to the puppy dog looks.

It failed. Aquarii had seen it with Katherine. It wasn't about to work with her boys.

"Alright, you two," she said, gently patting them on their backs and nudging them to their room. "Off to bed. I'll wake you when Daddy comes home."

What else could the boys do but as they had been told? Aquarii had a very thick shell when it came to her children arguing against bedtime.

* * *

The following morning, Sirius felt a warm hand brush against his cheek. He assumed it was his mother, so he paid it little heed. Instead, he curled up in his blanket, smiled, and pressed his face against the hand.

Then the owner spoke up. "Good morning, Sirius."

His eyes opened up moments later.

That was not his mother speaking.

It was his father.

He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Daddy?"

Altair smiled.

Then Sirius grinned. "Daddy!" he exclaimed, jumping up and giving his father a hug. "You're home, Daddy."

Durbe groaned from underneath his blanket. "Sirius, go back to sleep," he mumbled.

"But, Durbe-nii-" Sirius began.

A grown-up's finger against his lips silenced Sirius in a minute. "You need to be quiet, Sirius," Altair said. "It's still dark out."

Sirius looked towards his window.

Sure enough, it was. He could just barely see the stars, let alone the moon.

But he proved his sister wrong again.

The rain had stopped.

The thought made Sirius chuckle. "Katherine's gonna be so mad when she finds out that I was right again," he said.

Altair chuckled with his son, but quickly replaced his finger against Sirius' lips. "You're going to have to be quiet, Sirius," he said. "We have a guest tonight and she's very nervous."

"A guest?" Sirius asked.

Altair nodded.

"Why didn't you bring them home sooner then? They would have taken our bed and Durbe-nii and me could have slept on the floor with Guardian."

Altair had to fight off the urge to laugh. "You know Guardian's getting too big to fit in the house," he said. "Besides, I couldn't have brought them back earlier. I just got back home with them. And I had to race nonstop to get here."

"Oh," went Sirius. "Can I see them then?"

Altair let out a sigh, quickly giving in. He knew his son well enough to know that he would not be able to sleep again without seeing their new company. "Alright, but be nice," he said. "We don't want to scare her."

Sirius nodded as Altair picked him up from the bed. The sudden loss of the covers made him cold. Contact with the chilly floor only added to it.

But he sucked it up, however, and peeked into the main room of their humble home.

Aquarii was awake as well, a lantern held over her head. The light that poured from it allowed Sirius to see the guest.

A little girl was resting on one of their long chairs, Altair's cape wrapped around her shoulders. The sight made Sirius silently gasp, his face reddening at the sight.

"Well, Sirius?" Altair asked.

Sirius looked up to his father. "Is she a faery princess?" was all he could ask in a whisper.

"What makes you say that?"

"Look at her hair."

He pointed at the child, though his father quickly reminded him that it was rude to point. The little girl's long hair was the reddest hue Sirius had ever seen. Her golden eyes, just barely visible due to her head being tilted, added to the otherworldly feeling Sirius got from her.

"No, Sirius," Altair said. "She's not a faery princess."

"Is she an angel?"

"No."

"Then what is she?"

Altair didn't have the want to answer that.

Sirius quickly tilted his head. His father rarely hesitated in an answer like that. Must not have been very good if he wouldn't speak up. So Sirius looked up at his father once again. "Can I say hello?"

Altair had to think about it. "Only if you're careful," he said. "Don't be rude."

If Sirius had the vocabulary, he would have informed his father that he taught him to always be polite to women. But he didn't, so he remained silent.

With a light skip in his step, he walked up to the little girl and smiled. "Hello," he said happily.

Upon closer inspection, he found that the little girl looked more like a princess than he first thought. Her skin was flawless and fair. Her fingers were long and slender. If Altair had not told him that she was not a faery princess, he would have looked behind her for her wings.

Unfortunately, his greeting and his close proximity to her was enough to startle the girl and maker her hide beneath the cape. Curious, Sirius tilted his head to the side. Then he looked to his father. "Daddy? Am I scary?"

"No, Sirius," Altair answered. "You're not scary."

"What is he doing up?" Aquarii asked.

"He woke up. You know he wouldn't go back to sleep."

Aquarii sighed. Her husband was correct, but she was beginning to wish that he hadn't gone to see his children and wish them goodnight.

Looking back to the little girl, Sirius then raised the cape that covered her head. "Hello. I'm Sirius. What's your name?"

The girl didn't answer. Instead, her eyes had begun to tear up and her shoulders began to tremble.

In that moment, Sirius wondered whether or not asking for her name was a good idea. Especially when she slapped his hand away and covered herself up again, this time falling further into the long chair and sobbing.

By the time she was finished, Sirius had the want to cry himself. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, his voice beginning to crack.

Altair shook his head. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out to his son. "Let's get you back in bed. It's late."

Sirius accepted the hand, then looked back.

He wanted to see the girl one last time, but she had tucked herself in good. He had no idea how long it was going to take Aquarii to coax her out.

* * *

Sirius was the last to awaken that morning. He just barely remembered going to sleep before Durbe woke him up. "Hey, buddy," the elder twin said. "You'd better wake up. It's time to eat."

The younger of the two was just barely able to do as requested before he entered the main room. As he buttoned up his morning shirt, his eyes were drawn to the long chair.

The little girl was not there. The cape, yes. Her, no.

Part of him was surprised. The other part, less so. House guests seldom stayed into the afternoon.

"Good morning, Sirius, Durbe," Altair called out from their table.

Sirius looked back.

Then he froze, as did his brother.

The little girl was right there, sitting next to Katherine, wearing one of her dresses. Without the cape on her shoulders, her hair seemed even longer than before. The same applied to her bangs, for they completely hid her eyes from view.

"Good morning, Daddy," Durbe said, approaching the table. "Who's she?" When his question was asked, he did not point. Rather, he held his whole hand out, as he had seen his father do ever so often when referring to women.

The little girl lowered her head, her cheeks flushing.

Sirius noticed, but Durbe could not. He was at the completely wrong angle to be able to notice.

"She is a guest," Altair answered. "Be polite."

Durbe nodded.

Then Sirius walked over to the girl. "Good morning," he said almost hesitantly.

The little girl turned. She wasn't looking up at him, but it was something.

Then she jumped off of her chair and raised her head. Her index finger slowly went up to her face. "Lyra."

Sirius blinked. "Huh?"

The girl pointed to Sirius. "Sirius." She pointed back to herself. "Lyra."

Once Sirius got the picture, he grinned brightly. "That's a pretty name," he said happily.

The girl raised her head slightly, allowing her golden eyes to peek through her bangs. Then Sirius, completely forgetting his manners, snaked his hand past her bangs and raised them over her eyes. "You're pretty too."

Lyra's face reddened, then she pulled her bangs back over her face.

"Mo! Sirius!" Katherine snapped. "That wasn't very polite at all!"

Such a scolding was all Sirius needed to get completely flustered. "I-I'm sorry," he said to Lyra. "I'm sorry."

But Lyra simply shook her head. Whether she accepted the apology or not was something Sirius could not know at the time.

* * *

The Stone family received their new houseguest with open arms, doing everything they could to make her as comfortable as possible. However, her face, which she had hidden beneath a red veil of hair, clearly gave way to her sadness and discontent. She thanked her hosts as best as she could, but whenever Sirius peeked under her bangs, he could see tears threatening to pour from her eyelids.

Rarely did she speak, only raising her voice to thank those she lived with. She ate in silence, not even speaking when a question was raised to her. Whenever the time came to work, she generally stayed away from people.

And after Sirius caught some boys picking on her, he quickly understood why.

* * *

It wasn't like the games or teases the boys usually gave him. With him, they usually poked fun at his short stature or his preference to the left hand over the right. Some of the older boys were genuinely afraid of his preference, claiming that he was going to be cursed if he wasn't already. The first time he heard that sent him home in tears. Now he was used to it.

But that wasn't what they were giving little Lyra. The three boys had to have been no older than Katherine, yet they looked closer to ten; large and strong. Their fingers were tangled in Lyra's pretty red hair. Another had a grip on the wolf toy that she had been playing with. One of the two that held her hair was holding a pair of scissors. She was neither bruised nor filthy, but the sight of her tears streaming down her face was enough to anger Sirius to no end. Without wasting a beat, Sirius jumped forward, forcing the boy who held the toy away from Lyra. "Leave her alone!" he shouted.

His sudden attack on the older boy caught the whole lot of them off-guard. They released Lyra's hair and started to pull Sirius away. Frightened, Lyra raced down to the town, tears still pouring down her face.

"Leave her alone?!" the first shouted, pushing Sirius away from him. "She's cursed!"

"What do you mean 'cursed?!'" Sirius snarled.

"My dad heard the whole thing," said the second. "That girl's whole village was destroyed. She's the only survivor. You know what the elder says about people like that."

Sirius did know. He was young, but in no way ignorant. Those who died were unfortunate. Those who survived were cursed. And the only way to prevent the curse from affecting them was by embarrassing the curse victim in some way.

And with little girls, what better way then chopping off their hair? No wonder one of them had scissors. Honestly, there were times when he felt the village leader needed to pass the torch. Passing stories like that from one generation to the next was sure to ruin the village.

Nevertheless, Sirius shook his head. "She's not cursed!" he said firmly. "She smells really, really nice! She can't be cursed!"

"The wolf-kid says she smells nice," said the third. "How sweet."

"She does!" Sirius argued. "So leave her alone!"

The boys looked to each other for only a moment before ultimately refusing his demand. Such a response made Sirius' blood boil over and he charged at them again.

* * *

He remembered little of the fight. Only snatching the wolf toy from the older boy and being freed from the three by his father. Then he heard Altair threaten to tell their parents if they tried something like that again.

They apologized and quickly scampered off.

Then Sirius opened his eyes and saw his mother cleaning his face. "You truly are your father's son," she said, and not at all in a good way. Sirius could tell. "Why must you get into fights like that?"

"They were hurting Lyra," he said, not at all sorry for fighting. He was only grateful that he didn't suffer from an asthma attack during the squabble. He would have completely dropped his guard otherwise.

Aquarii sighed. "You're just fortunate that Lyra-chan told us what was happening," she said. "Otherwise, your father might not have been able to stop it at just this."

Durbe then lightly smacked his brother on the head. The bruise on his face made it clear that he got involved too, if only to stop the fight and save his brother from certain doom. "You're stupid."

Sirius didn't argue.

He then got onto his feet, instantly noticing Lyra holding the pair of scissors. He watched for only a moment before she took them to her hair.

"Ah! Lyra!" Sirius raced forward, then snatched the scissors away before she could do more. "Don't do that! Your hair is too pretty!"

Lyra sniffled, stray tears falling down. Her shoulders trembled as she raised her head, golden eyes meeting light grey. She didn't speak, only allowed a river of tears to fall.

With her round, red face and puffy eyes from constant crying, there was little Sirius could do against it. So instead, he let out a childish sigh as Aquarii escorted her back to their home. With her hair half chopped off, Aquarii would be forced to even it out. And that was a task she herself shunned.

Once they were gone, Altair walked up to Sirius and brushed his finger against his cheekbone. "You're going to get a black eye," he informed him.

"They said she was cursed," Sirius said firmly. He looked up to his father. "Lyra's not cursed. She smells too nice."

Altair paused, but then gave a light smile. "I don't believe she's cursed either," he said.

That was all Sirius needed to hear.

* * *

For a week after that day, Lyra kept her head covered by Altair's cape. She usually remained hidden under shady trees; a further attempt to remain unknown by the people.

One extra sunny day, Sirius walked over to Lyra. On the days before that, he would just sit beside her and watch the birds. That day, however, he set something heavy on the ground before her. "Lyra," he said. "I know you're awake."

Lyra raised her head. Sirius' eye had begun to heal, but she could still see a hint of faded green. Then she noticed that Sirius was pointing down towards what he had carried. "Look."

She did.

A bucket filled to the brim with water.

Understanding what he was trying to do, Lyra pushed the bucket away and hid herself even more. "AH!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping back before the cold water touched his toes. "Lyra!"

"Don't show me!" Lyra cried out. "I'm cursed. Don't make me look at me!"

Sirius felt his shoulders sag. Had Lyra heard what those boys had said? "They were just dummy heads," Sirius said. "Don't listen to them."

"But it's true! I don't-" She began to sniffle; "I don't even remember what happened with my Mama and Papa."

Sirius wanted to tear up. If he forgot about his father and mother, he knew that he'd be crying and believe himself to be cursed as well. But instead, he found his jaw was clenched and his hands were reaching towards Lyra's wrist.

Seconds later, he had it grabbed. "Come on," he said, pulling her up from the ground. "I want you to see something."

The cape fell to the ground as Sirius pulled Lyra to the brook that passed through their village. He then pointed to the water. "Look."

Again, she did. She hesitated, but she did as was demanded. The expression that Sirius gave her; a typical pouty face; made it difficult to refuse.

That was when she first saw it.

A young girl with short, red hair that had been carefully brushed. Her bangs had been brushed behind her ears, revealing her bright golden eyes for all to see.

Sirius bent forward, allowing his own reflection to take form in the water. "Daddy says," he began, "that someone who smells real nice isn't a bad person."

"Smell?" Lyra asked.

Sirius nodded. "Not like the flowers," he said. "It's different." He looked towards Lyra and grinned. "You smell really nice, Lyra-chan. So you can't be a bad person."

Lyra was taken aback. "Ch-Chan?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I say 'san' instead?"

Lyra shook her head. "No. I like 'chan.'"

Sirius smiled. "That's better," he said, pulling himself away from the brook.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

When Lyra stood back straight herself, Sirius gave her head a quick poke. "You're smiling. Now you look really pretty."

Lyra staggered back slightly, her hand up against her forehead. Fearing that he would do that again, she began to brush back her bangs. Fortunately, Sirius brushed them back behind her ears. "No," he said firmly, giving his previous pouty face expression. "Don't even think about it. You look prettier with your bangs back."

Lyra's face reddened slightly.

That was the last time she even tried adjusting her bangs.

* * *

**D.T.B: Could no longer resist the cuteness.**


End file.
